Wednesday, May 31, 2017

The Art of Mentorship: “I Don’t Like Public Speaking"

The jitters right
before the presentation, stuttering throughout the presentation, and a deep sigh
of relief after the presentation--I’m sure I’m not the only one, right?In my role as Program
Coordinator for the Georgetown-Howard
Universities Center for Clinical and Translational Science Multisite Study
Support and Recruitment Unit, I interact with colleagues from various institutions and
backgrounds. What I wasn’t prepared for was the number of presentations I'd have to give to the community.

Luckily, with encouragement and coaching from Tina,Becky
Montalvo and Karen
Wade, I utilized my professional development funds for the conference. Boy, was it a professionally developing experience!

I not only had the opportunity to sharpen my public speaking
skills, but also the opportunity to network with research administrators in the
Mid-Atlantic region. I attended sessions related to my current position and sessions
that provided information I can use in the future.Through this journey, Tina taught me tips and tricks
for public speaking. Because of this, I wasn’t as nervous during the
presentation and I even learned some methods for engaging the audience. As a result of the information I
learned at MHRI and Tina’s encouragement to present, I was able to share best
practices with the attendees.

We were strongly encouraged to submit our presentation for
the next NCURA FRA/PRA conference! Not only did chair and committee members for the conference take the time to let us know that
our group was very engaged, attendees stopped
by to express how much they learned and how they enjoyed the session.

Thanks
to encouragement and coaching received from Tina, Becky & Karen, I took
advantage of the opportunity to learn and grow not only as an MHRI associate,
but as a clinical research professional. Whether it’s to sharpen a rarely used skill, learn about things
related to your field from colleagues and experts across the country or to face
your fears: Take advantage of the
opportunity!